<< Objectives >>The implementation of the current project expects to develop skills and knowledge that the participating youth workers may use in order to help young people maintain healthy internet and technology attitudes and behaviours. The utter aim is not to keep the youth away from digital devices or make them afraid of progress, but to train youth workers on how to educate young people about balancing between digital life and offline life. For this aim to be achieved, the project will develop and actualize a 6 day TECH FREE Training Course (TC) for youth workers, who will be provided with knowledge and skills to help youngsters (18-30) develop a healthy relationship with the internet, social media apps and digital devices. The project sets the following objectives:Provide 25 youth workers from 5 European countries with mobility transnational experiences and exchange of practices. Develop 25 youth workers’ training skills and non intervening guidance techniques.Train 25 youth workers in the main principles of addiction and internet addiction.Raise awareness for 25 youth workers to detect dysfunctional internet and technology related habits of young people at risk of internet and technology addictive behaviours and differentiate those behaviours from healthy ones.Train 25 youth workers in behavioristic techniques to help young people schedule, monitor and maintain healthy routines for internet and digital device use.Engage 25 youth workers in experiential activities that include mindfulness and relaxation techniques that may be used in personalised group counselling and guidance for young people.Produce an accessible, innovative and digitally available training bookletShare materials that youth workers will be able to use in order to limit the use of electronic devices amongst the youth they work with.Indirectly affect youth at risk of internet addiction through the help they will receive by the trained youth workersThe project’s expected results are:Implementation of a 6 day Training Course for 25 youth workers from 5 European countries (Croatia, Italy, Poland, Spain and Greece) making sure to have gender balance amongst participants. The training will take place in Greece in a natural environment, blessed by the benefits of the mountain/sea and its friendly weather.Delivery of one intellectual output: a training toolkit for youth workers and relevant professionals, that they can use in their work with youth, especially those who are at risk of developing addictive habits towards digital devices. During the training activities, the participant Youth Workers from all associations will develop booklets containing all the learning outcomes of the project, in order for their associations and other related organisations to have as a resource for implementing the knowledge and abilities of the project in their respective activities. This will contribute to the multiplying effect of the TC.Skills development and enhancement of the knowledge resources for youth workers.Exchange of good practices and transnational collaboration amongst 5 partners from 5 different countries.Results dissemination on diverse European platforms, such as SALTO.In this way, the project will have a positive impact on the young people who are the main beneficiaries of youth working and more specifically of the youth workers who will participate in the training course.Through this TC we want to respond to the urgent need expressed by active youth workers to find constructive and alternative ways to face the challenges that the digital era is bringing to their field of work. Through the “TECH FREE training toolkit for youth workers” that will be the system development and outreach activity of the project, we hope to expand the results effect and open a concrete dialogue with the youth workers community as a whole.<< Implementation >>ACTIVITY 1: TECH FREE Training CourseThis Training Course will involve 25 youth workers from 5 different countries: Croatia, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain.It will take place in a natural environment in the peninsula of Pelion in Greece.The training sessions will be implemented by 3 trainers/facilitators from the applying organisation, POREIA YGEIAS (HEALTH ROUTE).The participants of this TC will be Youth Workers who have direct contact with youngsters 18-30 years old in their daily work and who struggle with the challenges that the digital era brings to their field of work. We will have participants who are willing to share the outcome of the Training Course with their colleagues on return and who will agree to participate actively in ALL of the activities of all phases of the TC (preparation, implementation and follow-up/dissemination). Gender balance amongst participants will be ensured.ACTIVITY 2: TECH FREE Toolkit (System development and outreach activities)This activity aims to develop an intellectual output, for the enhancement of skills and knowledge that youth workers may use in order to help young people maintain safe internet and technology attitudes and healthy behaviour related to the use of digital screen devices.POREIA YGEIAS (HEALTH ROUTE) will produce a training toolkit for youth workers, aiming to serve as a pool of idea and a practical guide for youth workers who want to know how to help young people be free from the negative impact of the dysfunctional or even addictive use of internet and screen devices. The “TECH FREE training toolkit for youth workers” will include both information and basic principles on relevant thematics and also practical advice and exercises that youth workers may use with young people aged 18-30 either individually or in a group support setting.The toolkit will be made use of in the Training Course (see Activity 1) but in a pilot version. Additionally, the content of the “TECH FREE training toolkit for youth workers” will be finalised after the end of the youth workers Training Course, in order to be enriched by the feedback or extra input that the participant youth workers will offer to the project’s agenda.<< Results >>With the implementation of this TECH FREE Training Course we want to contribute to the quality of youth work at local, regional, National and European/International levels. The TECH FREE Training Course responds to the (increasing) need of youth workers and youth organisations to find constructive ways to face the challenge of the digital era that we are in and which has just begun.The project’s expected results are:Implementation of a 6 day Training Course for 25 youth workers from 5 European countries (Croatia, Italy, Poland, Spain and Greece) making sure to have gender balance amongst participants. The training will take place in Greece in a natural environment, blessed by the benefits of the mountain/sea and its friendly weather.Delivery of one intellectual output: a training toolkit for youth workers and relevant professionals, that they can use in their work with youth, especially those who are at risk of developing addictive habits towards digital devices. During the training activities, the participant Youth Workers from all associations will develop booklets containing all the learning outcomes of the project, in order for their associations and other related organisations to have as a resource for implementing the knowledge and abilities of the project in their respective activities. This will contribute to the multiplying effect of the TC.Skills development and enhancement of the knowledge resources for youth workers.Exchange of good practices and transnational collaboration amongst 5 partners from 5 different countries.Results dissemination on diverse European platforms, such as SALTO as well as on a local level, through all of the 5 partner organisations.We are also expecting to have a group of motivated youth workers willing to co-organise a TECH FREE Youth Exchange (with the support of the partner organisations) as a follow-up to this Training Course.